Melanie is Passionate About Academics, Performing, and Supporting House Rabbit Society

Commencing Forward

Melanie Limas An, a Carmel Valley resident and freshman at Canyon Crest Academy, is beginning her high school journey with excellent credentials. First and foremost, thanks to her superb grades, she was chosen to give the commencement speech at her promotion ceremony from Carmel Valley Middle School. Elaborating on the words of wisdom she imparted to her fellow students, Melanie said, “I shared my favorite quote by Dr. Seuss: ‘Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.’” Reminiscing on the experience, Melanie commented, “It was fun to hear my classmates applaud and give a standing ovation.”

No stranger to receiving praise from an audience, Melanie, who has taken dance classes since age two, has performed routines competitively for two different dance teams in the SoCal circuit. She’s already won over 50 dance trophies, plaques, and medals. Melanie admitted, “It’s a great feeling to be on stage dancing to the music, seeing people smile, and then hearing the applause.”

“It was fun to hear my classmates applaud and give a standing ovation.”

In addition to her passion for the performing arts, Melanie is passionate about doing well in school. She proclaimed, “I always strive to maintain an A in all of my classes as a personal challenge.” Involving herself in scholarly extracurriculars, Melanie has been on her middle school’s student council and was one of the founding members of the school’s robotics club. She was even selected to attend Tech Trek, a week-long science camp at UCSD for Southern California girls. Citing her mom – the former Miss Teen Dallas – as an inspiration for her success, Melanie revealed, “She always says that obstacles mean opportunities, and she taught me to reach for the stars!”

Melanie’s mom grew up owning over a dozen rabbits in Texas and she passed that love for bunnies on to her daughter. Melanie now has her own bunny, named Snowy, and is in the process of publishing a book she wrote called The Bunny Book. Melanie also volunteers at the House Rabbit Society (www.sandiegorabbits.org), making YouTube videos of homeless rabbits. She proudly exclaimed, “Homes have been found for over 50 bunnies since I started doing this!”

Ultimately, Melanie aspires to have a career in psychiatry, hopefully combining it with broadcasting. She also intends to travel around the world. Certainly the global community can benefit from all that Melanie has to offer.